


Enfantyrant

by Dream_Wreaver



Series: Gabriel Appreciation Week 2018 [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Babysitting, Other, Snark, Teenage Snark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-09 00:00:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13469394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dream_Wreaver/pseuds/Dream_Wreaver
Summary: He should have learned his lesson, and if it isn't fixed he might forget it all





	Enfantyrant

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4 of Gabriel Appreciation Week- Young Gabriel

Certain life experiences should have been lessons to people. For example, if one did something risky and dangerous and nearly got themselves killed, well logic would dictate that you probably shouldn't do that again. Clearly, Gabriel Agreste had not learned that lesson.

And thus Enfantyrant had been born. Born of the rage a prospective designer had felt when Gabriel had called their designs simple and infantile. He had dismissed them without a second thought. Despite what any outside audience might have thought, Gabriel was not needlessly cruel for the sake of creating akumas. That wasn’t how he operated. Did he take advantage of his own cruelty? Yes, absolutely. But cruelty was rampant in the fashion world, and he was the best of the best for a reason. And now he was the target of his own akuma’s war path. Well, it wasn’t the first time, and if it could get him closer to the miraculous, it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Of course, he’d had the bonus of an assistant who was contractually obligated to help protect him, and she was incredibly resourceful.

Nathalie kept the akuma at bay, at the risk of her own self being infantilized, while he hid. In his lair. Technically speaking it was the safest place for him to be while the akuma rampaged throughout the house. At last the angry screams and howls of newly made infants began to die down and Gabriel believed it safe to return. He had thought wrong. Enfantyrant had been lurking around the windows of his mansion, peeping in to try and see where he had hidden himself. And once the akuma had caught sight of their target they let loose a blast of the infantilizing energy Hawkmoth had bestowed them with. Their goal had been to turn him into a baby, unfortunately, that hadn’t quite been the result.

When the fog had cleared Gabriel found his clothes were slightly too big for his frame, as though he’d lost a bit of weight and height all over the place. His pristine, slicked back hair fell in longer, messy tufts around his head. And he felt a sort of vitality in his body that had been exhausted for quite some time. He stood up and perhaps foolishly marveled at how his sleeves slipped past his hands. His pants had thankfully only become too long, but otherwise fit fine. That would have been embarrassing otherwise. He raced to a nearby bathroom where he saw a face that was only remembered in photographs. Himself, but younger. The akuma had been satisfied with the zap, and had left in a hurry. He was alone, alone in a mansion with babies likely overrunning everything. He would need to take care of that, but first he thought as he snagged the innocuous looking purple stone from his collar, it was probably best that he get some better fitting clothes.

It was altogether a too easy thing to raid his son’s closet. The clothes weren’t as well tailored on him, but his son had built up a bit more muscle definition than he had at that age. A benefit of all those extracurriculars Gabriel assumed. Well, it mattered not. The clothes fit better than the ones that he’d had on. But as he exited Adrien’s room he heard the sound of a miserable child. Something possessed him to go find it, and when he did he was shocked. It was Nathalie, but Nathalie as she had likely been around seven years old. The red streak he’d come to know her for was gone, and instead of the sensible bun her hair had been done up in high pigtails on the side of her head. The turtleneck shirt she usually wore was now like an oversized dress, and she was bawling her eyes out.

“Nathalie?” Gabriel couldn’t help but asking. Seems as though Enfantyrant had gotten to her too, but in a similar manner as what had happened to him, the beam had been weakened and she’d been reverted to an older state than normal.

The child stopped crying at the sound of her name, but sadness still emanated from her and she continued to hiccup as she looked around. Her face was red and blotchy from the tears, and he felt a tug at his heart. Without even thinking about it Gabriel crouched down to her level and put a hand on her head.

“It’s going to be alright,” where the paternal soothing had come from he had no idea, he certainly wasn’t like this with Adrien, but it stopped everything and she leapt into his arms, trembling like a leaf.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I-” Nathalie sniffed, “I- I can’t find my mommy!” echoed off the walls as she began to cry anew.

“Shh!” Gabriel began to rub a hand up and down her back, “It’s okay, it’s okay, let’s go and find her.” he went to put her down so he could stand up, but she clung tight to him and refused to let go. Stifling a teenage sigh Gabriel rose to his feet, one arm cradling the child as he regained his balance.

Seeing something that resembled a phone Gabriel went around the desk. Calling the mother seemed like a better idea than just wandering around Paris. Who knew how long it would take to find the woman that way. But before he could even think of asking whether Nathalie knew her home number he stopped. This phone looked nothing like what he was used to. And there were several other devices he didn’t recognize. Hesitantly he went out to touch the one that looked like a phone, and then he drew back. Nathalie had nestled her head into the crook of his neck and was watching his indecision silently, a fist curled up near her mouth. A few more times this repeated before Gabriel gave up.

“Do you remember where you live?” he asked her.

Nathalie looked up a moment and then shook her head. Of course she didn’t, where was a phone book when you needed one? He could just look up her last name and find her. How hard could that be?

“How are we supposed to find your mom if we don’t know her phone number or where you live?” Gabriel asked.

Nathalie merely shrugged, she didn’t know. Which meant he would be stuck babysitting until someone called about their missing child. Or… he could go to the police, wasn’t that the smartest decision? Then again, how would that look, a teenage boy coming in with a kid in ill-fitting clothes and no shoes? Not good. Maybe he should try and find her something else to wear, but he really couldn’t think of where baby clothes might be in this monstrosity of a house.

It was then there came a knock resounding off a door. Gabriel gulped, Nathalie tightened her grip on him. Should he answer? Where was the owner of this house? Well, perhaps it was best to let them think no one was home, then they would go away and he wouldn’t have to deal with them.

No such luck. When the knocking ceased he heard them trying the door, which for some reason was unlocked. A voice called out, “Mister Agreste? Are you there?”

It sounded female, but it was more than one set of footsteps that echoed off the ceiling as they stepped inside. The female called again, “Mister Agreste?”

Was this one of his father’s houses? Gabriel didn’t think so, his father didn’t have such taste. And when would they have been able to afford all of this? They weren’t poor by any means, but they hadn’t won the lottery yet.

A head popped into the office where he stood with Nathalie. She had bluish-black hair tied up in pigtails and wore a red and black spotted mask. A mask that matched the rest of her, kind of indecent outfit as she stepped into the room. Did he miss something? Was today Halloween? Or was someone just messing with him.

The girl’s eyes lit up in relief when she saw him, before turning to surprise.

“Mister Agreste!” she exclaimed, running into the room, “What happened to you?”

“Do I know you?” he asked, raising a brow at her, and then at her equally strangely dressed companion as he entered the room. First a ladybug, now a black cat. What had gotten into these people?

Unfortunately, the child in his arms didn’t seem to have any such reservations. When she saw the second person she leapt out of his arms with a cry of “Kitty!” and went running towards the boy. Or she would have, if she hadn’t tripped on the hem of her dress and fell flat on her face. Instantly she teared up. Gabriel braced himself for another annoying onslaught of crying, but the boy crouched down and approached her gently. Nathalie instantly brightened and launched herself into his arms, giggling happily and petting his head, tugging at his ears, the word, “Kitty!” escaping her mouth over and over.

Gabriel scoffed, why did anyone want kids? They were nothing but annoying little pests. The cat boy took good care of the child. His partner, it seemed, wanted to explain some things to him.

“Do you really not know who I am?” she asked sitting him down and taking the chair across from him,

“I have absolutely no memory of ever seeing you before in my life,” he assured her, “And believe me, I have an eye for fashion, there’s no way I would forget an outfit like  _ that _ .”

She didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. So she disregarded it and continued, “My name is Ladybug, my partner Chat Noir and I are superheroes. We save Paris from villains created by the akuma sent out by someone named Hawkmoth.”

“Superheroes? And supervillains? In Paris? When did this happen?”

Ladybug glanced him up and down, “Mister Agreste-”

“Gabriel,” he corrected, “I am not my father.”

“Gabriel,” she amended, “How old are you?”

What was her aim? Instantly he took on an almost smug manner, “Are you asking because you’re interested?”

She blinked a few times before wrinkling up her nose. It was adorable, not that he’d admit to such a thing out loud, “No,” she replied firmly, “The akuma that was set loose on the city had a knack for turning people into infants. Now, while you’re not an infant by any means, I would like to know your age so that I know how much I have to catch you up on.”

“I’m-” now that he thought about it, how old  _ was _ he? “Seventeen? At least, I think I am.”

“You don’t know for sure?” Ladybug pressed.

“Worried being seen with me might get you in trouble?” he was teasing her, but he couldn’t help it. It amused him to see her flustered and indignant.

She sputtered, “ _ What _ ?” it was said as if she couldn’t believe his audacity. Though given the way she was acting around him, this was not the side of himself he would have shown her in previous encounters.

While he mulled this thought over she seemed to recover herself, “Gabriel, in reality you are already an adult, with a son.”

“Me? A family man? I don’t think so,” Gabriel scoffed. He’d never intended to marry anyone or anything except his work, “I don’t have time for that sort of nonsense.”

“The right person can change anyone’s mind,” came the voice of Chat Noir, he held Nathalie in his arms. And the little girl had quite the sour look on her face. What had upset her this time?

“Pardon?”

“You and your wife were an incredibly famous couple,” Chat added, “Anyone who knew anything about the fashion world knew about you and her.”

“If I was so in love with her as you claim, where is she?” Gabriel demanded imperiously.

The two supers looked at each other, wondering if they should tell him. But their silence only seemed to prove his point. He laughed, “I’m not a people person, I hate people. Why would I want a family when I wouldn’t even be good at having one?”

“How can you say that?” Ladybug asked him.

“Because if I was any good my alleged wife might still be here. Since she’s not and you don’t know where she is I can only assume she walked out on me. And I hardly blame her, I don’t like people, and I don’t want to be around people. I don’t need them, and I most certainly don’t need love.”

“She disappeared,” Chat said quietly, though simmering over with rage, “About a year ago she disappeared and no one knows where or why. Not even you. But it hit you hard, you can tell from the portrait in the foyer.”

“Portrait?” Gabriel rose from his chair and walked out the door. And there, at the staircase landing he saw it. A morose, mourning picture of an older man and a young boy dressed all in black and looking somber. Why he would ever have this commissioned Gabriel didn’t know. What had happened to his older self?

“There’s another one too,” Chat added from his position in the doorway. “You didn’t even notice it earlier, did you?”

Without a word Gabriel went back into the office and on the back wall he saw a goddess in gold. If that had been his wife, then the boy must have been her child, there was no mistaking the resemblance there. But while he stood stunned by the beauty that floated before him a weight barreled into him. The little girl, Nathalie, he remembered, and she clung to his leg. But she didn’t look at him, instead setting her eyes elsewhere with a stubborn little pout. She had a crush on him? Gabriel shook his head, why did little girls always go after the unattainable? It just didn’t make any sense to him. Still, he picked her up and held her by him, and then she too looked on in awe.

“Madame,” she whispered, as though the title had come without a second thought. The sharp inhale of surprise that came after it corroborated that thought.

With a sigh, Gabriel turned back to the heroes, “Well, if your job is to save Paris, then do what you need to do. I must admit, I’m confused as to why you came here in the first place.”

“We had heard the akuma talking about you,” Ladybug replied, “We thought we could get here before it was too late.”

“Well, too late or not, if you have a way to fix this, then fix it.”

They nodded, but before they headed off Chat Noir stopped and looked thoughtfully at him.

“What is it?” Gabriel asked.

“What about Nathalie?” he inclined his head to the child in Gabriel’s arms.

“I’ll watch her,” Gabriel replied, “Unless, she has a parent who can take her.”

“She’s normally an adult too,” Chat replied, “Just watch her, and be prepared. Once we defeat the akuma everything will go back to normal. But I would recommend putting on your old clothes, just in case.”

Gabriel refrained from rolling his eyes, though the urge was most definitely there, “Fine, now go.”

A two-fingered salute and he was off. And Gabriel was alone with the child, again. As a teenager it was hard for him to relate, he’d already been through so much, seen so much, done so much. And kids, they got excited by every little thing. Which produced migraines due to incessant excitement at trivial things. Perhaps Nathalie was a bit easier, given that she actually prefered books, and being read to rather than running around bouncing off the walls. But then, she’d also expended a lot of energy crying, and reading made her tired. She asked for a nap through a yawn. Gabriel found a spot where she could not too far away. She asked to be tucked in, rather than argue it was easier to comply. But she was sneaky, this child. And as he finished pulling the blanket around her she leaned up and placed a peck on his cheek before ducking down under the covers again. Gabriel brushed a hand against the spot and had to try not to laugh. Kids, what more was there to say than that?

Later that day the Miraculous Cure swept through the city, restoring everything to the natural order. Gabriel now remembered everything, as did Nathalie. She had fumbled out an apology on behalf of her own behavior, asserting that she had definitely grown up since then and such things would never occur. He believed her, how could he not excuse her actions when something very much the same had happened to him? And part of him wanted to kick himself for saying such heartless things about his wife. He loved his wife, which was why he was doing everything that he was. But then, he remembered that he had been acting exactly his age, even under the akuma’s powers. He hadn’t wanted to get married at that age, hadn’t wanted children, hadn’t wanted a family. But now he had them all. And he was going to do everything in his power to protect them.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like it? Let me know and leave a comment. Until next time


End file.
